Soles Electric was established in 1960 to serve the electric motor repair industry. They have established themselves as one of the leading electric repair facilities East of the Mississippi. Since 1960, Soles has diversified to serve such industries as Steel, Aluminum, Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Hospitals, Large Campuses, government, Public Service Districts, Power Plants, Chemical Plants and Coal, among others.
Their services range from motor and pump repair to predictive maintenance and preventative maintenance solutions.
Joining ISG
Since taking over as president of Soles Electric in 2012, Roger Stewart has successfully advanced the legacy of Soles and what was built from scratch in 1960. The careful workmanship and customers service, that they are known for, is routinely displayed via the expert technicians and employees that work there.
Scaling a business is never an easy task. It takes time and capital investment in things that are outside the normal scope of operations. Because of this, Roger’s business plan for growth was that of a long term plan that would take a lot of hard work and killer performance to get there.
As with every successful business, inquiries came from larger industrial service companies as well as private equities. However, coming from a private equity background, Roger knew the traditional process an equity firm takes with a company and this is not something he was interested in. Roger and his team had their growth plan and that was something he was confident in and ready to execute.
Jim Richard (ISG CEO) and Roger got acquainted and had multiple conversations about ISG’s model and it’s impact on employees, customers, and business growth. Through these conversations, Roger, saw that ISG did not do things the typical way of a private equity or acquiring company.
Roger was able to see better benefits and more resources for his employees, a network that provided opportunity for new business, capital investment to fast track growth, and an autonomous type relationship with ISG (keeping his company’s plan, culture, brand, processes, etc).
“Once it clicked that this was not the typical acquisition, the game changed. We got to be who we are, my employees got to receive better benefits and resources, we got to be part of a network that provides so many opportunities, and we could accelerate OUR growth plan.” – Roger Stewart
ISG Network Impact
Since joining ISG, Roger and his team has spearheaded the impact the ISG network of brands has on one another. He immediately facilitated a meeting with the executives at one of his top customer’s and the presidents and leaders at the other ISG brands.
As a result, Roger’s customer gained more access to equipment distribution as well as expert service for specific pieces of equipment and now had an opportunity to simplify their procurement process. In addition, our brand leaders, gained access to new business opportunities that they did not have access to before.
This effort was an example of the type of impact that ISG can have for customers and the brands that join the brand family.
“The possibilities and potential for our company have increased exponentially. We have access to opportunities we would not have had access to without the ISG network.” – Roger Stewart
